Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2022
3. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of farm safety inspectors employed; the level of farm safety inspections in each of the past five years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18551/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Property Registration Authority (PRA) continued to maintain a high level of service to support a robust property market throughout the period of Covid-19 restrictions. In 2021, overall application completion levels recovered to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Notwithstanding this level of activity, there has been an increase in the length of some completion times.
As set out in the PRA Customer Charter, completion times are measured in respect of cases that are in order (are not rejected or queried) and do not involve a change to map. In 2019, 87 per cent of applications were completed within 10 working days and 90 per cent within 20 working days. In 2020 and 2021, the 10-day and 20-day completion rates dropped to 49 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively, in 2020, and to 35 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively, in 2021, on account of the impact of the pandemic and reducing staff resources. The year to date in 2022 shows 45 per cent of cases have been completed within 10 working days and 53 per cent have been completed within 20 days of lodgement with the PRA.
A new Arrears Clearance Programme has already been set in train by the PRA Management Board, and cross organisational multi-disciplinary teams have been established to focus on the elimination of arrears. This programme, underpinned by project management discipline, envisages a structured approach to implementation, with an emphasis on data analysis, innovation and business process improvement. The PRA intends to communicate this intent, and ongoing progress achieved, to both its internal and external stakeholders. One aim of the programme is to achieve the guaranteed casework turnaround times that existed pre-Covid in the PRA’s Customer Charter.
Finally, the PRA is always willing to act on requests from lodging parties to expedite an application pending in the Land Registry, and every effort is made to expedite cases where valid grounds for urgency exist, such as a pending sale or financial hardship.
